42:13.00N 08:54.00W Playa Arenas das Rodas Anchorage Isla de Cies

Zoonie
Tue 28 Jul 2015 14:52
Zoonie took us on a very gentle inter island sail south to this world
famous beach on Isla Cies (Thies). Rob hooked one fish on the way but it decided
it wasn’t ready to be caught.
Back in 2007 The Guardian claimed this was the best beach in the world “an
authentic Caribbean beach”. I wonder if the journalist has visited every beach
in the world to decide this? The beach is lovely but is now SO popular the only
time it has that remote island idyll look is before 10.00 and after 20.30 when
the last visitors have left. If the weather is ‘caribbean’ the beach is packed.
These islands are part of the Spanish Marine Nature Reserve and in a way it is
good that as many people as possible enjoy them. A leading factor that will keep
them wild is the lack of cars and metalled roads. I was reminded of Sark where
the only wheel transport is tractors and trailers, although there are a couple
of white four by fours here also, one serving the teenagers campsite. The tracks
are wide and well worn for walking, keeping people on the marked paths and thus
maintaining the privacy of the wildlife.
We had a wander over the man-made causeway which provides protection from
the sea to a salt-water lagoon full of conger eels, mullet, urchins, octopus,
crab etc. The mole handles the many arrivals of visitor boats from Vigo, Cangas
and Baiona, in fact one company boasts it brings around 1 million visitors a
year and places are limited. (The Galapagos of Galicia? I hope they don’t become
a victim of their own success.)
At one of the three bars we drank Alhambra Reserve Beer and at 6.4% it was
tasty and potent, before returning to Zoonie for the night. As we sat in the
cockpit enjoying the evening we saw three lads get into their dinghy for a spell
ashore leaving behind their barking dog as dogs are banned from the island.
After a while they returned clearly the better lubricated by the Alhambra brew
and the next thing we saw was white Montmorency the dog barking at them as they
jumped naked into the water for a cooling swim. I couldn’t help but think of the
literary comparison of Three Men in a Boat, not forgetting the dog (the black
dog, Montmorency) by Jerome K Jerome. But here the comparison must end for once
back on board and preparing for departure, the anchor resting on its roller, one
of them came up from below sporting an impressive and ready baby maker to show
us! I averted my eyes of course. They were high on the Alhambra and their pretty
little yacht took a winding route out from the anchorage.
24th July
In the early hours the wind piped up making the anchorage a noisy place. In
fact there is no protection from any direction unless tucked up well close to
the shore and those spots were taken by smaller craft. Still we hadn’t come all
this way to be defeated so in the cool grey light of day Rob and I cleaned; I
did the windows and mirrors inside and Rob the floors. Then we braved the
elements, as the sun was emerging, and walked to both lighthouses. Faro de Cies
is high up 175 m above sea level. The final climb over a granite stone walled
track looks like the Great Wall of China from the air and is only for fairly fit
walkers, while lower down Faro da Porta serves the gap between Isla Cies and
Isla San Martino to the south. Both had us admiring the design and building
skills of past generations.
After the rain of the night before the smell of eucalyptus oil was all
pervading and we wandered back past blackthorn bushes covered in sloes and the
youth campsite busy with football playing boys and girls. Lunch comprised tasty
‘harvest’ fish and chips and bread. That night we slept on the settee berths in
the saloon away from the drone of the wind generator mast in the continuing
strong wind. We hoped to go back ashore in the morning to walk the north end of
the island but given the choice of a cosy marina or another risky and wet row
ashore we took the former on the basis the islands have been here for millions
of years and they’ll be here when we next visit, perhaps in a few days.
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